AWE Anniversary Drabble Countdown
by idle curiosity
Summary: A drabble a day, leading to the anniversary of At World's End - Will/Elizabeth
1. Arrow

I don't own them, and I make no profit from using the characters, which are owned by Disney, et al.

001 - Arrow

Through all the fierce fighting, she always knew exactly where he was. They fought side by side, back to back, never far apart.

"Elizabeth," he shouted over the din, before helping her dispatch a barnacle-encrusted crew member. He grabbed her arm, making sure she faced him, that she saw him. She didn't think she'd ever seen his dark eyes so direct.

And there, on the heaving deck of the _Pearl_, drenched with rain, surrounded on every side by Company marines and _Dutchman_ crew, Will went to the heart of the matter, his question piercing her soul.

"Will you marry me?"


	2. Eye

002 - eye

She isn't sure when he'd started using the words.

She knows that he doesn't like to say goodbye. He'll say_ good day,_ or_ good night_, but not goodbye. She thinks it's because he's had to say it too many times … to his father, his mother, his friends in England, the only home he'd ever known. People and things that he can or will never go back to.

But when he is going to be gone a long time, he will use the words, needing always to remind her of the promise of his return.

"Keep weather eye on the horizon."

.


	3. Patience

150 words this time

Patience

She's never been patient, because she's never had to be. It's always tried her spirit to wait for anything.

He's always been patient, because he's had to be. His craft taught him that.

_"Will, just hit it," she says from her perch in the blacksmith shop. She watches him lift the sword he's making, carefully gauging the color of the heated metal._

_"it's not time yet," he replies, thrusting the unfinished blade back into the coals of the forge. "I'll ruin it. It'll be nothing but slag if I bang away on it now."_

_She huffs an impatient breath, and he laughs._

_"Sometimes," he slides his finger playfully down her nose, "you have to wait to get what you really want."_

Ten years stretch out before them like forever. She remembers what he'd said. He's always been patient. And she will learn to be … to get what she really wants.


	4. Spider

004 - spider

The web of a spider doesn't look like much. In the early sunlight, it will glisten with dew and is actually beautiful to behold. There is nothing about it, just by looking at it, that shows its intent to be a trap.

Jack's words and plan weave a web, strand by strand. There is nothing in them to tell him what the intent is.

"_No,_ you_ want you to find this."_

_"How much do you know about Davy Jones?_

_"Yeah, it's gonna save Elizabeth."_

_"Hey, if you_ do_ happen to get captured, just say Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt."_

_"Might save your life."_

When Davy Jones asks him his purpose aboard the _Dutchman_, he tells him the words that Jack told him to say. They are the final strand in the web, and he finds himself well and truly trapped.

And he likens Jack to a spider.


	5. Cold

005 - Cold

She's been cold before.

She was cold when she lived in England. The flames in the fireplaces never seemed to keep the rooms warm enough to suit her during the long winters.

She was cold in the cave at Isla de Muerta. It was damp and chill, and she was frozen with the fear of having her throat slit in some bizarre ritual.

She was cold when they'd traveled to world's end. She'd shivered with guilt and shame, even as she'd marveled at her fall from grace.

She was cold when she'd watched Will's life fade away. The ice encased her heart, and all she'd felt was hard and brittle and numb.

She is cold now. This is the cold of loneliness. She misses the warmth of his touch, the heat of his desire, the flame of his love.

But in ten years, she tells herself, she will be warm again.


	6. Chaperone

_Because every once in awhile, you need something fluffy._

006 - Chaperone

They're getting married in three weeks.

Thank the Lord, says I.

I wish the Guvnor'd never given me this job.

Estrella, he says. You will be in charge of chaperoning Elizabeth and Mr. Turner while they are betrothed, he says. I'm quite certain I can rely on you to protect my daughter's reputation, he says.

Hmph. I'd like to see him try and keep an eye on those two. Always disappearing somewheres, soon as my back's turned, and then showing up later all mussed-like. Always touching each other when they think I'm not looking. Him teaching her to fight with a sword, and her wearing those breeches. They play with those swords for hours, and he kisses her every time she does something right. I can't stop 'em. I caught her more'n once trying to sneak out in the middle of the night, to go meet him somewheres, I'm sure.

Good thing the Guvnor's never found out, thank the Lord again.

They're getting married in three weeks. I just hope I last.


	7. Ring

007 - Ring

It's a sound that she hears often in her nightmares.

There were so _many_ sounds that day, a veritable cacophony. There was the thunder and rain of the maelstrom, the crashing of waves against ships, the pounding of cannons and the musket fire, the shouts of pirates and marines and barnacle-encrusted crew, the shrieks and moans of the dying.

Yet, above the din, above Will's almost soundless cries of pain, that particular sound had a piercing clarity ... the ring of fine steel as Davy Jones released the sword from his grasp, leaving it embedded in Will's chest.

She will never forget it; her nightmares won't let her.


	8. Embrace

008 - Embrace

She can hear the staggered breath he takes, can hear the grief in just that slight, hitching sound. He pulls away, and she opens her eyes to see him walking towards the shore and the waiting _Dutchman_. Her heart rebels; this cannot be the last time she holds him, kisses him. She runs after him, crying out his name, throwing herself into his arms, and their lips meet in a caress that holds a world of love, of desperation, of unending sorrow.

When he finally breaks away, his eyes are dark with anguish. "Keep a weather eye on the horizon," he pleads, before turning from her and towards his unwanted fate.

It is their last embrace for a decade.

_She walks through the tall grasses of the cliffs at day's end, their son skipping on ahead. This is the sunset she has waited ten years to see. They stand together, and at the last flicker of the sun's brilliance, there is a flash of green. Her lips curve into a secret smile and she tells her son that she will race him to the beach. And then she is flying down the path, holding her skirts high. When she sees him, standing straight and strong on the shore, she cries out his name and throws herself into his arms. Their lips meet in a kiss that holds ten years of love, of longing, of loneliness and determination._

_It is their first embrace in a decade. And her heart sings, because it will not be their last. _


	9. Fairy Tales

Let's just call this my cynical moment of the month, lol.

009 - fairy tales

Pirates were my fairy tales.

They sailed the seas, they had adventures, they were swashbuckling buccaneers who lived their lives for freedom.

What could be more romantic than that?

Yet pirates live for themselves, and for selfish impulse. They will trade a man who'd risked his own life to save theirs, to settle a debt that they themselves owe. They will abandon their ship and crew in a time of distress. They will come back, but will not face the inevitable and sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

I've grown up since then. I want what I can count on.

I want someone who acts on his conscience. I want someone who believes in me and what I can do. I want someone who will take an apprenticeship he'd never asked for and turn it into a craft. I want someone who puts the needs of others before himself. I want someone I know would sacrifice himself for the good of all, if that was the only thing that there was left to do. I want someone who picks up the pieces that others dropped, and defends despite the odds.

Will once told Jack he would die for me. I believe it.

I don't want fairy tales anymore, I want something real.


	10. Dust

010 - dust

It completely infuriated him to see her there, kneeling on the dusty floor of her cell, her beautiful wedding dress bedraggled and dirty. She was a pawn in the hands of a ruthless man who played a dangerous game - they both were. Yet he cared nothing for himself. He knew that he would do whatever was necessary to not only get her out of there, but to be assured of her freedom from future persecution as well.

He knew that the Governor didn't have much faith in his ability to track Jack down and retrieve the compass, but his opinion mattered not one whit. _Elizabeth_ believed in him, and that was enough.

"_Keep a weather eye on the horizon_," he whispered, before racing up the steps of the prison.

Buying passage on a ship bound for Tortuga, he strode up the gangplank, the dust of Port Royal and its jail covering his boots. He never realized that he would never see the town again.


	11. Eagles

She'd heard about eagles, read about them, although she'd never seen one. Birds of prey that could soar majestically through the sky, wings spread to the winds, flying higher and farther than any other.

How did that feel, she used to wonder?

_The fighting is furious around them. They circle the mast, hands coming together. They will do this themselves, they will not be stopped again._

_"Elizabeth Swann, do you take me to be your husband?"_

_"I do!" she laughs out her reply. _

_"Great," he is almost giddy._

_Separated by fighting, they come together again._

_"Will Turner, do you take me to be your wife?" she smiles at him over their clasped hands._

_She ducks under his arm as he continues to hold her hand in his, changing positions with him._

_"In sickness and in health," he comes up behind her as she crosses swords with a barnacled crew member, stabs it as she holds their crossed blades high. He pushes it off his sword with his foot. "With health being the less likely?"_

_They are separated again, and when they come together, his answer is warm and firm. "I do!" She smiles._

_They duck and continue to fight, as Barbossa tries to tell them repeatedly that they are husband and wife, that they can kiss. She goes high over Will's shoulder as they stab and slash._

_Will leans her over his arm, his lips close to hers. She is angry and frustrated as they are pulled apart again, and she takes it out on any unfortunate Marine or crew member in her path. In the heat of battle she and Will turn to each other, blades crossing above their heads, almost killing each other. Panting, they stare at each other, eyes equally alight with an almost feral gleam._

_"Just kiss!"_

_Fiercely, she grabs his arm and pulls him to her, and their lips meet in a caress that carries equal amounts of love and ferocious desire._

_And Elizabeth at last understands how it feels to soar, like an eagle. _


	12. Sneak Attack

In honor of spring training, and in anticipation of our home opener on April 9th.

Word count - no idea, wasn't keeping track. So sorry (using best Norrington voice)

She had no trouble negotiating the tunnel that led into the cave of the Isla de Muerta. Her memory of how she was taken there the last time, and how she'd been rescued by Will, was faultless.

Elizabeth had no idea what she could do against so many pirates. But that didn't really matter. All she knew was that she had to do what she could to save Will, that she had to get to him.

When she'd come as far as she was able, she jumped out, and pulled the boat onto dry land. She could already hear the clashing of swords and occasional cries of pain. Following the sounds, the path she retraced opened up to the cave itself, and she could see that most of the pirates were gone. There were only three left, and Barbossa himself.

While Jack dealt with the good captain, Will fought the others. Elizabeth simply stood and watched for a moment, her attention riveted on him. A fierce pride licked through her veins. No one could handle a sword like Will. No one.

And with that pride was something else. Fury, the likes of which she'd never felt before, seethed inside her.

Their butler, a man who had been with them since they'd arrived in the Caribbean, had been killed in front of her very eyes. She'd been kidnapped, and terrorized aboard the _Black Pearl_. She'd stabbed Barbossa in a futile attempt to escape, only to have him show his true nature, and the nature of the crew that sailed with him as they threw her to the moonlit skies for their own amusement.

She'd had her hand sliced in some bizarre ritual. They'd threatened to slit her throat as well. She'd been rescued by Will, only to be taken again. She'd watched the _Interceptor_ explode, and her shock and grief at thinking Will dead nearly brought her to her knees.

She'd been offered up to the crew like some harlot.

She saw Will appear over the ship's rail like an avenging angel, and the soaring delight and relief she'd felt at knowing he was alive took her breath away. She'd then watched him give himself up for her. And she'd known exactly what that meant for him.

She'd been marooned with Jack, rescued again, and had listened to her father and Norrington decide to abandon Will to his "regrettable fate" despite her pleas. She'd bartered herself away in marriage to save him, been locked up, escaped, and freed the crew of the _Pearl_ to help save Will, only to have them be of absolutely no help at all.

In short, she was thoroughly enraged, and Jack the undead monkey was not the only one who was going to pay.

Her eyes narrowed as she searched the cave floor. There had to be something she could use as a weapon amongst all this swag. A tight smile bloomed as she spied a gaff. It was as thick as her arm and almost as long as she was tall. It would do nicely. She moved to pick it up, and hefted it in her two hands. It felt good in her grasp, right somehow.

Turning, she started towards Will, determined to take her place at his side. She could see him sprawled on his back, having been thrown there by a small explosion. One of the pirates who had terrorized her was standing over him, poised to kill him.

Primitive and elemental, the need to protect rose up in her like a flame at this newest threat to Will's life; it melded with all her anger. She bounced the gaff in her hands in anticipation as she strode up behind the man, testing it's weight.

"I'll teach you the meaning of pain," the unsuspecting pirate sneered, sword held high.

Elizabeth planted her feet. The fingers of one hand curled over the top of the gaff, the fingers of the other curled underneath. She put a little more space between her hands, tightened her grip, and brought the weapon back over her right shoulder.

"You like pain?" she snarled, and all of her pent up rage went into the swing. The sound of the gaff connecting with the pirate's head was the most satisfying thing she'd heard since the _Black Pearl_ had sailed into Port Royal and they'd spirited her away. The hapless man went flying, and she suddenly felt much better.

"Try wearing a corset."


End file.
